MassResistance, which has the distinction of being one of the few organizations classified as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, just sent out an email bragging that the organization was invited to attend a breakfast meeting with Sen. Scott Brown earlier this week which included this photo of Brown with MassResistance head Brian Camenker :
US Senator Scott Brown held an impromptu breakfast Feb. 20 in South Boston to connect with representatives of his grassroots activist supporters. It included key Republican activists, Tea Party activists, and others (even some Democrats). South Boston activists invited MassResistance to join the event as the major pro-family action group.
The Brown people seem well aware who his base is, and he genuinely wants to stay connected with them … The meeting was at the Playwright Restaurant and Bar on West Broadway. Brown strolled in a few minutes early with just an aide.
Sen. Brown mingled and spoke individually with people for quite a while. He talked about a range of topics. And he wanted us to feel comfortable contacting his office if we needed to, and said that he would represent the average person’s interests. Then everyone sat down and had breakfast. Later, he gave a short speech and left for his next appointment.
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A meeting like this in Massachusetts is really quite astonishing. Although the liberals get this kind of meeting all the time (e.g., the current governor regularly meeting with MassEquality), the idea of a U.S. Senator (or any major politician) sitting down with real conservative activists is simply unheard of. Certainly no recent Republican governor – Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift, or Mitt Romney – would have ever done this. They often met with liberal activists, but they were uncomfortable around conservatives and kept them at a distance.
But Brown’s message was that he’s willing to listen to us and take us seriously. And despite years of politics and sudden national fame, he hasn’t become elitist or condescending — which also makes him an oddity among politicians here.
